1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of laundry appliances and, more particularly, to a laundry dryer including a removable frame member for supporting a volatilizable material in an air flow for treating articles of clothing placed within the dryer.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In general, it is known to employ a volatilizable material, to treat articles of clothing contained within a conventional clothes dryer. There are several products on the market, such as BOUNCE, DRYEL and the like, that impart a fragrance, fabric softener, or the other substance to the articles of clothing. Typically, the volatilizable material, which takes the form of a fabric sheet or material web, is placed within the dryer and allowed to tumble and interact with the articles of clothing. With this arrangement, the combination of a heated airflow, contact with the articles of clothing and humidity causes the fragrance, softener or other substance to be transferred from the volatilizable material to the articles of clothing.
While these products are fine for a laundry appliance in the form of a tumble dryer, they would not be appropriate for use in a cabinet-type dryer. Cabinet dryers typically include a rod, such as that found in a typical clothes closet, from which articles of clothing are hung and exposed to a drying operation. Once placed in the cabinet, the articles of clothing do not move to any substantial degree and thus would not interact with the volatilizable material such that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to properly treat the articles of clothing. However, cabinet dryers are gaining in popularity as many consumers do not have the time to iron or make periodic trips to the dry cleaners. Clothes dried in a cabinet drier are less prone to wrinkling and, therefore, do not require ironing. However, unlike tumble dryers, the ability to impart a fresh fragrance to the clothes is rather limited.
The prior art also discloses a variety of holders for retaining a volatilizable material. One example is contained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,537 disclosing a door mounted apparatus for deodorizing or treating clothes in a tumble-type clothes dryer. The apparatus exposes a pellet or other chemical to a hot air stream circulated by both a rotary action of an inner tub and the articles of clothing tumbling within the inner tub. Another example, proposed U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,678, discloses a cabinet drier having a plurality of filters, including a charcoal filter, for filtering odors from the cabinet. These filters are arranged in hard-to-access locations, require periodic cleaning and are costly, not to mention that they do not lend themselves to transferring a fragrant material to clothing. In either case, the above described systems are not suitable for incorporation into a cabinet dryer to treat laundry with a fragrance or other substance.
Consumers have come to rely upon a variety of recognizable fragrances as a sign of cleanliness. Without the ability to transfer these recognizable fragrances to the clothing, consumers may come to believe that, for whatever reason, the clothes may not be as clean as they should. Therefore, providing a means of transferring a familiar fragrance to clothing placed in a cabinet dryer would increase the attractiveness of the appliance. In addition to imparting a fragrance to the clothes, there are products available that perform a dry cleaning process. The ability to take advantage of these products would further add to the utility and attractiveness of the appliance. Based on the above, there exists a need in the art for an improved holder for transferring a volatilizable material to articles of clothing that would allow a fragrance or the like to be carried to articles of clothing being dried in a laundry appliance, particularly a cabinet dryer.